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SPEECH 



OF 



Hon. Horatio Seymour, 



BEFORE THE 






DEMOCRATIC UNION STATE CONVENTION, 



AT 



ALBANY, SEPTEMBER 10th, 1862, 



ON 



Receiving the Nomination for Governor; 



1 

ALSO, 



HIS SPEECH DELIVERED AT THE ALBANY CON- 
VENTION, JAN. 31ST, 1861. 



PRICE $1 00 PER HUNDRED. $10 Od PER THOUSAND. 



NEW YORK: 
VAN EVRIE, HORTON & CO., No. 162 NASSAU STREET. 

1862. 



Sim 



HEXBHANQ 



SPEECH 

OP 

HON. HORATIO SEYMOUR 

Before the Democratic State Convention, at Albany, Sep- 
tember 10th, 1862, on receiving the Nomination 
for Governor. 



Mb. Tkesident— Having uniformly and de- 
cidedly expressed my unwillingness to hold any 
official position at this time, I did not expect 
my name would be brought before this Conven- 
tion. The nomination you have made subjects 
me to great inconvenience, whatever may be 
the result of this election. I came lo thii Con- 
vention expec'ing to aid in placing at the head 
of the ticket the name of one whom I feel to 
be more fit than myself for that honorable po- 
sition. Bat, sir, whatever may be the iDJary to 
myoelf, I cannot refuse a nomination made in a 
manner that touches my heart and filli me with 
a still stronger sense of my obligations to this 
great and patriotic party. In addition to my 
debt of gratitude to partial friends, I am im- 
pelled, by the condition of our country, to sa- 
crifice my personal wi-hes and iatereets to its 
good. 

Two years have not passed away since a Con- 
vention, remarkable for its numbers, patriotism 
and intelligence, assembled at this place to 
avert, if possible, the calamities which afflict 
our people. la respectful terms it impl red the 
leaders of the political party which had tri 
umphed at a recent election to submit to the 
people of this country some measure of conci- 
liation which would save them from civil war. 
It asked that before we ehould be involved in 
the evils and horrors of domestic bloodshed, 
those npon whom it wonld bring bankruptcy 
and ruin, and into whose homes it would carry 
desolation and death, should oe allowed to 
apeak. That prayer for the rights of our peo- 
ple was dericftd and denounced, and falee as- 
surances were given that there was no danger. 
The storm came upon us with all its fary, and 
the war eo constantly and clearly foretold, de- 



solated our land. It is said no compromises 
would have satisfied the South. If we had tried 
them it would not now be a matter of disiord- 
ant opinion. It these offers had not satisfied 
the South, they would have gratified loyal men 
at the North, and would have united as more 
perfectly. 

Animated by devotion to our Constitution and 
Union, our people rallied to the support of Gov- 
ernment, and one year einc3 showed an armed 
strength that astonished the world. We again 
appealed to those who wielded this mighty ma- 
terial power, to use it for the restoration of the 
Uoios. and to uphold the Constitution, and were 
told that, he who clamored for his constitution- 
al rights was a traitor ! 

Congress assembled. Inexperienced in the 
conduct of public affair.3, drunk with power, it 
began its course of agi'ation, outrage and 
wrong. The defeat of our arms at Manassas, 
for a time filled it with terror. Uader this in- 
flueaco it adopted the resolution of Mr. Critten- 
den, declaring 

" That the present deplorable Civil War has 
" been forced upon the country by the Disun- 
" ioniats of the Southern States, now in arm3 
" against the Constitutional Goveramont and 
" In arms around the Capital. That in this Na- 
" tional emergency Congress, feanishiag all 
" feelings of mere passion or resentment, will 
" recollect only its duty to the whole country. 
" That this war is not waged, on their part, in 
" any spirit of oppression, or for any purpose of 
" conquest or subjagation, or purpose of over- 
" throwing or interfering with the righta or es- 
" tablishtd institutions of those States, but to 
" defend and maintain the supremacy of the 
" Constitution and to preserve the Uaioc, with 



" all the dignity, equality and rights of the se- 
" veral Spates unimpaired, and that as soon as 
" these objects are accomplished the war ought 
" to cease." 

Again the people rallied around the flag of 
the Union. But no sooner were their fears al- 
layed than they began anew the factious in- 
trigues—the violent discussions and the uncon- 
stitutional legislation which ever brings defeat 
and disgrace upon Nations. In vain were they 
warned of the consequences of their follies. In 
vain did the President implore forbearance and 
moderation. No act was omitted which could 
give energy to the Secessionists, or which would 
humiliate and mortify the loyal men of the 
South. Every topic calculated to divide and 
distract the North was dragged into embitter- 
ed debates. Proclamations of emanc'pa'ion 
were urged upon the President, which could 
only confiscate the property of loyal citizens at 
the South, for none others could be reached by 
the powtr of the government. The confiscation 
act had already forfeited the legal rights of all 
who were engaged in or who aided and upheld 
the rebellion. These were excited to despera'e 
energy by laws which made their lives, their 
fortunes, the safety of their families and homes 
depend upon the success of their schemes.— 
From the Dragon'a teeth, sown broadcast by 
Congress, have sprung the armies which have 
driven back our forces, and which now beleag- 
ures the capital of our country. The ac l 3 of 
the National Legislature have given pleasure to 
the Abolitionists, victories to the Secessionists. 
But while treason rejoices and triumphs, defeat 
and disgrace have been brought upon the flag 
of our country and the defenders of our Consti- 
tution. Every man who visited Washington six 
months ago could see and feel we were upon * he 
verge of disaster. Discoid, jealousy, envy and 
strife pervaded its atmosphere 

I went to the camp of the eoldiers. Amid the 
hardships of an exhausting campaign— amid 
sufferings from exposure and want — amid those 
languishing upon beds of sickness, or those 
struck down by the casualties of war, I heard 
and saw only devotion to our Constitutioi?, and 
love for our country's flag. Each eye bright- 
ened as it looked upon the national e'andard, 
with its glorious emblazoniy of star a and 
stripes. From this scene of patriotic devotion 
I went into our national Capitol. I traversed 
its Mosaic pavements ; I gazed upon its walls 
of polished marble ; I saw upon its ceilings all 
that wealth, lavishly poured out, could do to 
make them suggestive of our ccuntrj 'a great- 
r ess and its wonderful wealth of varied produc- 
tions. Art had exhausted itself in painting and 
sculpture to make every aspect euggestive of 
high and noble thought and purpose. Full of 
the associations which cluster about this vast 



Temple which should be dedicated to patriot- 
ism and (ruth, I entered its Legislative Halls ; 
their gilded walls and gorgeous furniture did 
not contrast more strongly with the rude scenes 
of martial life than did the glistening putres- 
cence and thin lacquer of Congressional virtue 
conlrast with the sterling lojalty at d noble self- 
sacrifice of our counfry'a defenders. I listened 
to debates full of bitterness and strife. 

I saw in the camp a heartfelt homage to our 
national flag— a stern defiance of those who 
dared to touch its sacred folds with hostile hand. 
I heard in the Capitol threats of mutilaHon of 
its emblazonry— by striking down the life of 
S'ates. He who would rend our na'ional stan- 
dard by dividing cur Union is a traitor. He 
who would put cut one glittering star from its 
azure field, is a traitor too. 

THE PRESENT CONDITION OF OUR COUNTRY. 

Let us now confront the facts of our condi- 
tion, and they shall be stated in the language 
of those who brought this administrat ion into 
power, and who are now politically opposed to 
the members of this Convention. Af.er the ex- 
penditure of nearly one thousand millions ®f 
dollars, and the sacrifice of more than onehun. 
dred theusacd northern livep, in the language 
of the Evening Post : 

What has been the result ? Our armies of 
the Weft, the noble victors of Fort Donelson 
and Shiloh, are scattered so that no man kaowa 
their whereabout, while the foe they were sent 
to disperse is a hundred miles in their rear, 
threatening the cities of Tennessee and Ken- 
tucky, and even advancing toward one of the 
principal commercial cities of the free States. — 
There is no leadership, no unity of command, 
apparently no plan or cot c-rt of action ia the 
enure region we have undertaksn to holel and 
defend. At the same time, our >rmy of the 
Eas f , numbering 250,000 troops, folly armed and 
equipped and admirably ditciplined, after in- 
vesting the capital of the enemy, has been dri- 
ven back to its original position on the Po'om- 
ac, decimated ia numbers an(3 unprepared to 
make a eingle vigorous movement in advance. 

And it adds : — 

Now it is useless to shut our eyes to the fact 
that this is a failure, disgraceful, humiliating 
aid awful. 

The Evening Journal, the accredited organ 
of the Secretary of S ate, now admits the truths 
uttered in this Hall when we assembled here 
in February, 1861, -rulbs then derided and de- 
nounced a3 absut d and treasonable. It says : 

The war has been a stern schoolmaster to 
the People of the Lojal States. We have 
learned the folly of underrating our enemies. 
We have learned that they are equally brave, 
equally hardy, equally quick witted, equally 
endowed wiih martial qualities will oureelves. 
We have learned ihey are terribly in earnest in 
their efforts to achieve their ends. 

The New York Tribune declares that 
" The Country is in peril. Viewed from the 
standpoint of the public estimate of the ' situ- 



atiori,' it is in extreme peril The rebels seem 
to be pushing forward their forces along the 
border line from the Atlantic to tbe Missouri. 
They are threatening the Potomac and the 
Ohio. They are sulking at Washington, Cin- 
cinnati and Louisville). The simultaneous 
movement is both alarming and encouraging. 
It is alarming because, through the timidity, 
despondency or folly of the Federal Govern- 
ment, it may become temporarily successful, 
giving to the foe a lodgment in some portion 
of the Free States which may require weeks to 
break up." 

But it is admitted by those who were oppos- 
ed to u«, that debt and defeat are not the hea- 
viest calamities which weigh us down. A vir- 
tuous people and a pure government can bear 
up against any amount of outward pressure or 
physical calamity, but when rottenness and 
corruption pervade the legislative hall or exe- 
cutive department, the heart of the patriot 
faints, and his arm withers. The organ of the 
Secretary of State admits : 

"There have been mistakes There have 
been speculations. Weak men have disgraced, 
and bad men have betrajedthe government. 
Contractors have fattened on fat jobs. Adven- 
turers have found the war a source of private 
gain. Moral desperadoes have nocked about 
the National Capital and lain in wait for prey. 
The scum of the land has ga'hered about tbe 
sources of power and defiled them by its rank 
and offensive odor. There h^s been misman- 
agement in the departments ; mismanagement 
wherever great labur has been performed and 
great responsibilities devolving. Men— even 
Presidents and Cabinet officers and Command- 
ing Generals— have erred beciuse they could 
not grasp the full significance of the drama, and 
because they were compelled to strike out on 
untrodden paths."— {Eve. Journal. 

Tae New York World exclaims in an agony of 
remorse : 

It is with dismay and unspeakable shame that 
we, who have supported the administration from 
the beginning, observe its abuse of its power of 
arrest. There is no such thing as either jus- 
tifying or ex'enutting its conduct in thio parti- 
cular. Every principle of American liberty, 
every regard for the loyal cause, every senti 
in! of justice, every impulse of manhood, 
cries out against it. The man who thinks at 
all is absolutely staggered that these thii.gs 
can be. They seem like some hideous dream 
One can almost faBcy that Mephistophilea him- 
self had got access into the councils of the gov- 
ernment, and by some device, fr^sh from the 
pit, had diverted its energies from the suppres- 
sion of rebellion to the suppression of liberty. 

The New York Times demands a change in 
tbe Adminis'ratioD, and in the conduct of af- 
fairs. 

I have thus carefully set forth the declara- 
tions and named the witnesses to this awful 
indictment againsb our rulers, for we mean to 
proceed with all the care and candor, a.nd all 
the eolemnitj of a Judicial Tribunal. 

It is with a sorrowful heart I point to thee 
dark pic'uree, not drawn by journals of the De- 
mocratic party. God knows that as a membtr 



of that patriotic organization, as an American 
citizen, I would gladly efface them if I could. 
But alas, they are grounded upon truths that 
cannot be gainsaid. Once more, then, our Re- 
publican fellow citizens, in this day of oar com- 
mon humiliation and disgrace, we implore you 
as respectfully as in the hour of your political 
triumph listen to our suggestions. We do not 
come with reproachee, but wion entreaties, 
Follow the pathway marked out by the Consti- 
tution, and we shall be ex'ricated from our 
perilous position. On the other hand, if you 
will still be governed by those who brought us 
into our present conlition, you will learn too 
late that there are yet deeptr depths of degra- 
dation before us, and greater miseries to be 
borne than those which now oppress us. Nay 
more, the President of the United States ap- 
peals to us all, in his communica'ion with the 
loyal men of the border States, when he says he 
is pressed to violate his duty, his oath of office, 
and the Constitution of the land— pressed by 
cowardly and heartless men, living far away 
from the ecenes of war, fattening uptrn the 
wealth coined from the blood and misery of 
the land, and living in those localities where 
official invest gations show that this people and 
government have been robbed by fraudulent 
contracts. Such men demand that those who 
have suffered most in this contest, who have 
shewn the highest and purest patriotism un- 
der the terrible trials of divided families, of 
desolated homes, of ruined fortunes and of 
blood stained fields, should have a new and fur- 
ther evil infhVcd upon them by the hands of a 
government they are struggling to uphold. By 
tbe help of God and the people we will relieve 
the President from that pressure. 

NECESSITY FOE PARTY OBGANIZATI )K8. 

An attempt is made to close the ears o. our 
Republican friends to our appeals, beciuse we 
act as a political organization. Can we do 
otherwise ? Would not the dispersion of this 
ancient pariy, identified as it is with the growth, 
greatness and glory of our land, be looked upon 
as a calamity, even by our opponents? Did 
not a shadow fall upon our country when it was 
torn apart at Charleston ; and do not men of all 
parties point to its disruption as one of the 
causes of this unnatural war? Is it not just we 
should have a representation jm the State and 
National government proportioned to our con- 
tributions to our armies and the treasury ? If 
we elect all of our ticket at this time, we shall 
have no more than our proportional share of 
political power. It may be said we should meet 
without regard to political orginizitione, and 
nominate officers. Let the two great parlies be 
honest and honorable enough to meet in fair 
and open discussion with well defined principles 



6 



and polities; Then each will serve our country 
as we'll out of power as in power. The vigilance 
kept alive by party contest guards against cor- 
ruption or oppression. This watchfulness is 
most needed when unusual expenditures of 
money present unusual temptations to the cor- 
rupt and selfish. 

For another reason we cannot disband our 
organization. The Union men of the border 
and more southern States, without distinction 
of party, implore us not to do so. They tell us 
a triumph of our party now would be worth 
more than victories upon the battle field. It 
would re-assure their friends, it would weaken 
their opponents. Every advantage gained over 
Abolitiomem puts down the rebellion. While 
they and we know there are many just and pa- 
triotic men in the Republican party, it is still 
true that its success gives power and influence 
to the violent and fanatical, and that their par- 
ty action always goes beyond their party plat- 
form. 

Every fair man admits there is no way of cor- 
recting abuses but by a change of political 
leaders. The Republican party demanded this 
when they charged abuses upon Democratic 
adminirrf itions. They should concede the prin- 
ciple now. 

Experience shows that frauds practiced by 
political friends are ^not punished by men in 
power. It is conceded that gross frauds have 
been committed in different departments of 
government ; that they have brought distress 
upon our soldiers, defeat upon our arms and 
disgrace upon our people. But not one man 
has beep punished, or made to feel the power 
of that prerogative which is claimed to be an in- 
cident of war — corruption that has done more to 
destroy National power than armed rebellion 
has gone unscathed. The bentinel who slept 
upon hie pos*, has been sentenced to death— 
the official who closed his eyes to frauds, which 
destiojed armies, is quietly removed, by and 
with the advice of the Senate, and represents 
the Nation's charac er at the Capital of a friend- 
ly power ! Citizens in loyal States who became 
the objects of suspicion or of malignant as- 
saults, hav6 been seized at their homes, drag- 
ged to distant prisons without trial and with- 
out redress, while each convicted plunderer 
walks fieely and boldly among the people he 
has robbed and* wronged. Maladministration 
demaiidd a change of administration. 

At this time issues should be fairly and bold- 
ly mitce. It is no dishonor to be mistaken, but 
is disgraceful not to be outspoken. Let tire 
war at least settle questions of principle. A few 
months will decide who is right and who is 
wrong row, as the past two years have shown 
who wtre right and wh® were wrong heretofore 



We are in favor of the rights of the State, as 
well as of the General Government ; we are ia 
favor of local self-government, as well as of the 
national jurisdiction within its proper sphere. 

While we thus meet as a political organiza- 
tion it is not for partisan purposes. We can 
best serve our country in this relationship. The 
President of the United States will bear witness 
that he has not been pressed or embarrassed by 
us. We have loyally responded to every call 
made on us by constituted authority. We have 
obeyed all orders to reinforce our armies. When 
we were in power we denounced the higher law 
doctrine— the principle that men might eet up 
their wills against the statutes of the land— as 
treasonable. We denounced it when uttered by 
northern men : we are combatting it now when 
it is asserted by the rebellious South. We re- 
pudiate it by submitting to every demand of 
our Government made within the limits of right- 
ful jurisdiction. This obedience has not been 
constrained, but cheerfully rendered, even in 
support of a party and policy to which we are 
opposed. We have struggled to sustain not on- 
ly the letter but the spirit of our laws. We feel 
that we have set an example of loyalty that will 
not be lost upon thone opposed to us. Haying 
done our duty, we now demand our rights, and 
we shall at this time sit in calm and fearless 
judgment upon the conduct of our rulers. Ours 
shall not be the language of discoid and vio- 
lence. We deplore the passionate and vindic- 
tive assaults of'loading Republican jouraals upon 
those holding civil or military stations. Above 
all, we protest in behalf of our country's honor 
and dignity, against their insubordina' e and 
disrespectful language towards the President 
of these United Spates. Such language wrecks 
the authority of Government and tends to anar- 
chy and public disorder. 

For another reason, we cannot disband our 
organiza'.ion. No other party can save this 
country. It alone has clearly defined purposes 
and well settled principles. It has been well 
said incur Congressional Address, that under 
i*s guidance, 

From five millions, the population increased 
to thirty millions. Tke Revolutionary debt was 
extinguished. Two foreign wars were success- 
fully prosecuted, with a modera e outlay and 
small army and navy, and wi hout the suspen- 
sion of the habeas corpus : without one infrac- 
tion of the Consti'ution ; without one usurpa- 
tion of pDwer ; without suppresting a single 
newspaper; without imprisoning a single edi- 
tor ; without limit to the freedom of the cress, , 
or of speech in or out of Congresp, but in the i 
midst of the grossest abuse of both ; and with- • 
out the arrest of a single " traitor," though the . 
Hartford Convention sat duriDg oi.eof the warp, 
aiid in the o'her Senators invited the eicemy to 
" Greet our Volunteers with bloody bands and 
welcome them to Hospitable Graves!" 

Durii g all this time wealth increased, buti- 



»«** of all kinds multiplied, prosperity smiled 
on every side, taxes were low, wages were high, 
the North and the South furnished a market for 
each other's products at good price*, public 
liberty was secure, private rights undisturbed ; 
every man's house was his castle ; the Courts 
were open to all ; no passports for travel, no 
secret police, no spies," no informers, no bas- 
tiles ; the right to assemble peaceably, the right 
to netition ; freedom of religion, freedom of 
speech, a free bahot, and a tree press ; and all 
this time the Constitution maintained and the 
Union of the States preserved. 

WHY THE BEPUELICAN PARTY CANNOT SAVE THE 
COTJNTBY. 

On the other hand, the V6ry character of the 
Republican organization, makes it incapable of 
«ouduc< iog the affairs of the Government. For 
a aeries of years, it has practised a system of 
eoaiitioas, with men differing in principle, until 
it can have no distinctive policy. In such cha- 
otic masses, the violent have most control — 
They have been educating their followers for 
year?, through the press, not to obey laws 
which did r.ot accord with their views. How 
e&a they demand submission from whole com- 
munities, while they contend that individuals 
may oppose laws opposed to their consciences ? 
Tkey are higher law men. They insist that the 
contest, in which we axe engaged, is an irre- 
pressible one, and that therefore the South 
could not avoid it, unless they were willing at 
the outset to surrender all that Abolitionists de- 
manded. To declare that this contest is irre- 
pressible, declares that our Fathers formed a 
government, which could not stand. Are such 
mea the proper guardians of this government ? 
Have not their speeches and acts given strength 
to the rebellion, and have they not also enabled 
its leaders to prove to their deluded followers 
that the contest was an iriepressible one ? 

Bat their leaders have not only asserted that 
this contest was irrepressible, unless the South 
would give up what extreme Republicans de- 
mand, (their local institutions,) but those in 
power have done much to justify this rebellion 
in the eyes of the world. The guilt of rebellion 
is determined by the character of the govern- 
ment against which it is arrayed. The right of 
revolution, in the language of President Lin- 
cola, is a sacred right when exerted against a 
bad government. 

We charge that this rebellion is most vicked 
bccauee it is aga'nst the best Gavernment that 
ever existed. It is the excellence of our Gov 
eminent that makes resistance a crime. Rebel- 
lion is not ec cessarily wrong. I r , may be an act 
of the Ligkest virtue — it may be one of the 
deepest depravity. The rebellion of our Fa- 
thers is our proudest boast— the rebellion ot 
onr Brothers :'s tii e humiliation of our Nation, 
m our National disgrace. To reeist a bad Gov- 



ernment is patrietism— to re&iat a good one U 
the greatest guilt. The first is patriotism, ta« 
last is treason. Legal tribunals can only regard 
resistance of laws as a crime, but in the forum 
of public sentiment the character of the Govern- 
ment will decide if the act is treason or pa- 
triotism. 

Our Government and its administration aro 
different thiDgs ; but in the eyes of the civilized 
world, abuses, weakness or folly in the conduct 
of affairs go far to justify resistance. I have 
read to you the testimony of Messrs. Greeley, 
Weed, Bryant, Kaymond and Marble, charging 
fraud, corruption, outrage and incompetency 
upon those in power. Those who stand up to 
testify to the incompetency of these representa- 
tives of a discordant party to conduct the affairs 
of our Government are politically opposed to 
us. Bear in mind that the embarrassments of 
President Lincoln grow out of the conflicting 
views of his political friend?, and their habits 
and principles of insubordination. His hanls 
would be strengthened by a Democratic victory, 
and it his private prayers are answered, we will 
I relieve him from the pressure of philanthropists 
who thirst for blood, and who call for the exter- 
mination of the men, women and children of 
the South. The brutal and bloody language of 
partisan editors and political preachers have 
lost us the sympathy of the civilized world in a 
contest where all mar kind should be upon our 
side. 

Turning to the Legislative Departments of 
our government, what do we see ? In the his- 
tory of the decline and fall of Nations, there are 
no more striking displays of madness and folly. 
The assemblage of Congress throws gloom over 
the nation ; its continuance in session is more 
] disastrous than defeat upon the battle field. It 
excites alike alarm and di?gU3t. 
' The public are disappointed in the results of 
j the war. This is owing to the differing objects 
i of the people on the one hand, and fanatical agi- 
tators in and out of Congress on the other. In 
| the army, the Union men of the North and 
j South battle side by side, under one flag, to put 
1 down rebellion and uphold the Union and Cou- 
j stitution. In Congress a fanatical majority 
make war on the Union men of the South and 
strengthen the hands of secessionists by words 
1 and ac v s which enable them to keep alive the 
j flames of civil war. What is done on the battle 
I field by the blood and treasure of the people, is 
I und< ne by Senators. Half of the time is spent 
1 in factious measures designed to destroy all 
j confidence in the government at the South, and 
the rest in annoying our army, in meddling 
j with its operations, embarrassing our generals 
acd in publishing undigested and unfounded 
| scandal. One party is aeeking to bring about 



8 



peace, the other to keep alire hatred and bit- 
ternese by interferences. They prove the wis- 
dom of Solomon, when he said : " It is an honor 
to a man to cease from strife, bnt every fool will 
be meddling." 

This war cannot be brought to a successful 
conclusion or our country restored to an hon- 
orable peace under the Republican leaders for 
another reason. Oar disasters are mainly due 
to the fact that they have not dared to tell the 
truth to the community. A system of misre- 
presentation had been practiced so long and so 
successfully that whsn the war burst upon us 
they feared to let the people know its full pro 
portions, and they persisted in assuring their 
friends it was but a passing excitement. They 
still asserted that the South was unable to 
maintain and carry on a war. They denounced 
as a traitor every man who tried to tell the 
truth and to warn our people of the magnitude 
of the contest. 

Now, my Republican friends, you know that 
the misapprehension of the North with regard 
to the South has drenched the land with blood. 
Was this ignorance accidental ? I appeal to 
you Republicans, if for years past, through the 
press and in publications which have been 
urged upon your attention by the leaders of 
your party, you have not been taught to de- 
spise the power and resources of the South ? 
I appeal to you to say, if this teaching has not 
been a part of the machinery by which power 
has been gained ? I appeal to you to answer it 
those who tried to teach truths now admitted 
have not been denounced ? I appeal to ;. ou if 
a book, beyond all others, false, bloody and 
treasonable, was not sent out with the endorse- 
ment of all your managers ; and is it not true 
that now, when men blush to own they believed 
its statements, that its author is honored by an 
official station ? It is now freely confessed by 
you all that you have been deceived with re- 
spect to the South. Who deceived you ? Who, 
by false teachings, instilled contempt and hate 
into the minds of our people ? Who stained 
our land with blood ? Who caused ruin and 
distress ? All these things are within your 
own knowledge.— Are their authors the leaders 
to rescue us from our calamities ? They shrink 
buck appalled at the mischief thy have 
wrought, and tell you it is an irrepressible 
contest. That reason is as good for Jefferson 
Davis as for them. They attempt to drown re- 
flections by new excitements and new appeals 
to our passions. Having already, in legisla- 
tion, gone far beyond the limits at which, by 
their resolutions, they were pledged to stop, 
they now ask to adopt measures which they 
have heretofore denounced as unjust and un- 
constitutional. For this reason they cannot 
save our country, 



As our national calamities thicken upon us 
an attempt is made by their authors to avoid' 
their responsibilities by insisting that our fail- 
ures are due to the fact that their measures are 
not carried out, although Government basal- 
ready gone far beyond its pledges. The de- 
mands of these men will never cease, simply 
because they hope to save themselves from 
condemnation by having unsatisfied demands. 
At the last session Congress not only abolished 
slavery in the District of Columbia, but, to 
quiet clamorous men, an act of Confiscation 
and Emancipation was passed, which, in the 
I opinion of leading Republicans, was unconsti- 
I tutional and unjust. By this act the rebels 
j have no property— not even their own lives — 
! and they own no slaves. But to the astonish- 
I ment and disgust of those who believe in the 
; policy of statutes and proclamations, these 
j rebels still live and fight and hold their slaves. 
| These measure3 seem to have reanimated them. 
| They have a careless and reckless way of ap- 
propriating their lives and property, which by 
act of Congress belong to us, in support of 
their cause. 

But these fanatical men have learned that it 
is necessary to win a victory before they divide 
the spoil— and what do they now propose ? As 
they cannot take the property of rebels beyond 
their reach, they will take the property of the 
loyal men of the Border States. The violent 
men of this party as you kaow from experience, 
my conservative Republican friend, iti the end 
have their way. They now demand that the 
President shall issue a proclamation of imme- 
diate and universal emancipa'ion ? Against 
whom is this to be directed ? Not against those 
in rebellion, for they came within the scope of 
the act of Congress. It cm only be applied to 
those who have been true to oar Union and our 
Flag. Tney are to be punished for their loyal- 
ty. When we consider their sufferings and 
their cruel wrongs at the hands of the seces- 
sionists, their reliance upon our faith, is not 
this proposal black wi'h ingratitude ? 

The scheme for an immediate emancipation 
and general arming of the slaves throughout 
the South is a proposal for the butc'oery of 
women aad children, for scenes of lust and ra- 
pine ; of arsen a ad murder unparalleled in the 
history of the world. The horrors of the French. 
Revolution would become tame in comparison. 
Its effect would not be confined to the walls of 
cities, but there would be a widespread scene 
of horror over the vast expanse of great States, 
involving auke the loyal and seditious. Sach 
malignity and cowardice would invoke the in- 
terference of civilized Europe. History tells of 
the fires kindled in the name of religion, of 
atrocities committed under the pretexts of or- 



der or liberty ; but it is now urged that scenes 
bloodier than the world has yet seen shall be 
eaacted in the r axe of philanthropy ! 

A proclamation of general and armed eman- 
cipation at this timt:, would be a cruel wrong to 
the African. It is no* officially declared in 
Presidential addresses, which are fortified by 
Congressional action, that the negro cannot 
live in the enjoyment ot the full privileges of 
life among the white race It is now admitted, 
after our loss of infinite blood and treasure, 
that the great problem we have to settle is no 1 
the slavery, but the negro question. A terri- 
ble question, not springing from statutes or 
usages, but growing out o l the unchangable 
distinction of race. Is is discovered at this 
day, in Republican Illinois, that it is right to 
drive him from its soil. It is discovered by a 



Repudiation of our financial obligations would 
cause disorder and endless moral evil.-?. Pecu- 
niary rights will never be held mor6 sacred than 
personal righ s. Repudiation of the Constitu- 
tion involves repudiation of National debt*, ! I 
its guaranties of rights of property, of p 2 
son, and of conscience. Tin moment wo sb * 
the world that we do not hold the C mstit i 
to be a sacred compact, we not only destrcj all 
sense of security, but we turn away from a u 
shores the vast tide of foreign immigration.— 
It comes here nov not because there are not 
o her skies as brig"at and other lands as pro- 
duc'iee as ours. It seeks here security for 
freedom— for rights of conscience— for immuni- 
ty from tyrannical interferences, and from 
meddling impertinence. Ttie home and fire- 
ide rights heretofore enjoyed by the American 



Republican Congress, aner convolving our j people— en j oj ed under protection of a written 
country with declarations in favor of his equal ! Consti'u'ioD, have made us grea 1 : and prosper- 
righte, and asserting that he was merely the j us. I entreat you again touch them not with 

sacrilegecus hands i We are threatened with 
the breaking up of our social system, with the 
overthrow of State and National Governments. 
If we begin a war upon the compromises of tae 
Constitution we must go through with it. It 
contains many restraints upon our natural 
rights. It may be asked by what right do the 
six small New EugUnd S:a*es, with a population 
less tiuan that of New York, have six times its 
power in the Senate, which has become the 
con'rolling branch of government? By what 
natural right do these S sates with their small 
united populations and limited territories ba- 
lance the power of New York, P^nns.-lvania, 
Ohio, Ulinoie, Indiana and Michigan ? The 
vast debt growing out of this war will give rise 
to new and angry discussions. It will be held 
almost exclusively in a few Atlantic States. 
Look upon the map of the Union and see how 
small is the territory in which it will be owned. 
We are to be divided into creditor and debtor 
States, and the last will have a vast preponder- 
ance of power and strength. Uofortunately 
there is no taxation upon ibis national debt, and 
its share is thrown off upon other property. It 
is held where many of the government coa» 
tracts have been executed, and where in some 
instances, gross frauds have been practiced. It 
is held largely where the Constitution gives a 
disproportional share of politic il power. With 
all these elements of discord, is it wise to as- 
sail c jiistitutional laws or bring authority into 
contempt. Is it safe to encourage the forma- 
tion of irrepressible eommbtees, made up of 
impertinent men, who thrust themselves into 
the conduct of public affairs and try to dictate 
to legal rulers ? or will you tolerate the enroll- 
ment of armies which are not constituted or or- 
ganized by proper authori'iee ? Are *«Ch 



victim of unjust laws, that he should be sent 
away from our land. The issue is now changed. 
The South holds that the Arican is fit to .ive 
here as a slave. Our Republic *n Government 
denies that he is fit to live here at all. 

The Republican party cannot save the coun 
try, because through its powerful Press it 
teaches contempt for the Laws, Consita'ion 
and constituted authorises. They are not only 
destroying the Union, but they are shaking and 
weakening the whole structures of State as well 
as National Government, by denunciations of 
every law and of all authority that stand in the 
way of their passions or their purposes. They 
have not only carried d scord into our churches 
and legislative hall J , but into our armies. 
Every General who agrees with them upon the 
Bubject of slavery is upheld in ev^ry act of in- 
subordination and sustained against the clear- 
est proofs of incompetence, if not of corruption. 
On the other hand, every commander who dif- 
fers from their views upon the single point of 
slavery, is denounced, not only for incompe 
tency, but constantly depreciated in every act. 
No man is allowed to be a Christian ; no man is 
regarded as a statesman ; no man is suffered 
unmolested to do his du f y as a soldier unless 
he supports measures which no one dared 
to urge eighteen months since. They insist 
that martial law is superior to constitutional 
law, that the wills of Generals in the field aie 
above all restraints ; but they demand for them- 
selves the right to direct and con'rol these 
Generals. They claim an influence h-gher than 
that they will allow 10 the laws of the land. — 
Are these displays of insubordination and vio- 
lence safe at this time ? 

The weight of annual taxation will test se- 
verely the loyalty of the people of the North. 



10 



bLi&gejast towards those who have placed their 
fortunes in the hinds of the government at 
this crisis ? 

We implore you do not be deceived again wi> h 
the ayren song of no danger. There ia danger, 
great ai.d imminent, of the destruction of all 
government of safety for life and property un- 
less the duty of obedience to law and respect 
for authorities and the honest support of those 
in the public service, both military and civil, 
are tanght and enforced, by all means, within 
our control. 

With us there is no excuse for revolutionary 
action. Oar system of government gives peace- 
ful remedies for all evils in legislation. 

WHAT THE DEMOCRATIC PABTY PBOPOSE TO DO. 

Mr. President : It will be asked what do we 
propose to c"o. We mean, with all our powers 
of mind and person to support the Constitution 
and uphold the Union ; to maintain the laws, to 
preserve the public faith. We insist upon obe- 
dience to laws and respect for Constitutional 
authority ; we wih defend the rights of citizens ; 
we mean that rulers and subjects thall respect 
the laws ; we will put down all revolui ionary 
committees ; we will lesist all unauthorised or- 
g&miz&tions of armed men; we will spurn offi- 
cious meddlers who are impudently pushing 
themselves into the councils of our Government. 
Politically opposed to those in authority, we de- 
mand they shall be treated with the respect dae 
to their positions as the representatives of the 
dignity and honor of the A.merican people. We 
do not try to save our country by aband ning 
its government. In these times of trial and 
danger we clhog more closely to the great prin- 
■ ciplea of civil and religious liberty and of per- 
gonal right ; we will man the defences and bar 
riera which the Constitution throws around 
them ; we win revive the courtage and strecgbh 
en the arms of loyal men by showing them the] 
have a living government about which to rally ; 
we wil proclaim amidst the confusion and up 
roar of civil war, with louder tones and firmei 
voices the great maxims and principles of civil 
liberty, order and obedience. What has perpet- 
uated the grea f nes3 of that nation from which 
we derive so many of onr maxims ? Not its vic- 
tories upon land nor its triumphs upon the 
aeas, but its firm adherence to its traditional 
policy. The words of Coke, of Camden and 
Mansfield, have for long periods of time given 
sfrer-gth and vitality and honor to its social 
system, while battles have lost their signifi- 
cance. When Ei glatd was agitated by the 
throes of violence— when the person of the King 
was insulted ; when Parliament was besieged 
by mobs maddened by bigotry ; when the life of 
Lord Mansfield was sought by infariated fanat- 
ics, and his house was burned by incendiary 



fire?, ihen he uttered tho.ie words which checi . 
at once unlawful power and lawless violen 
He declared that every citizen was entitled 
his rights according to the known procsdm 
of the land. He showed to the world the ca 
and awful majesty of the law, unshaken amic 
convulsions. Self reliant in its strength a 
puri.y, it was driven to no aets which deatr 
the spirit of law. Violence wa3 rebuked, t 
heart of the nation was reassurei, a sense of i 
curity grew up, and the storm was stilled 1 L 
ten to his word : 

Miserable is the condition of individuals ; da 
geroua is The condition of the State where the 
is no certain liw, or what is the same thing, : 
certain adminiatra'ion of law by which indivi 
uals may be protected and the State made e 
cure. 

Thus, too, will we stand calmly uo amid 
present disasters. We have warned rha pub! 
that every act of disobedience weakened the 
claims to "protection. We have admonished 0' 
rulers that every violation of right destroyt 
sentiments of loyaby and duty. Tiiat ob 
dience and protection were reciprocal oblig 
tion-?. He who withholds his earnest and ohee 
ful support to any legal deojand of hia Gover. 
ment, invites oppression and usurpation on tt 
part of those in authority. The public servat 
who oversteps his jurisdiction or tramples upo 
the rights, persoD, property or procedure c 
the governed, ins igatea resistance and u 
voU. 

Under abuse and de*rac ( ion we have fftithve 
ly acted upon these precepts. If our ourposi 
were factious, the elements of disorder at 
everywhere within our reach. If we were i 
disobedient to this Government and as denui 
ciatory of its officials as those who pi iced the 
in po^er, we could Dsake them tremble in the 
seats of power. We have been obedient loy 
and patient. We shall continue to be so undi 
all circumstances. But let no man miatal 
this devotion to our country and its Gonstitt 
tion for unworthy fear. We have no great* 
stake in good order than other men. Our arm 
are as strocg, our endurance as great, our foi 
ti'ude as unwavering &l that of our politic) 
opponents. Bat we ee^ the blessings of peaot 
ojt law, of order. We a^k the public to mar 
our policy and onr position. Opposed to th 
election of Mr. Lincoln, we have loyally sus 
tained him. Differing wi'h the the Admioistrs 
tion as to the course and conduct of the wai 
we have cheerfully responded to every deman 
made upon us. To day we are putting fori 
our utmost efforts to n-inforee our armies i 
the field. Without condition or threats we ar 
exertic g our energies to strengthen the hand 
of government and to replace it in the'com 
manding position it held" in the eyes of th 
world before recent disasters. We are pourin 
out our blood, cur treasures, and our men, t 
rescue it (rom a position in which it can neithe 
propose peace nor conduct successful war. An 
tt>is support ia lreely and generously accorded 
We wit h to see our Union saved, oar laws vin 
dicited, and peace once more restored to on 
land. We do not claim more virtue or intelli 
gence than we award to our opponent?, but w 
nosv have the aad and bloody proof than we ac 
upon sounder principles of government. Anni 
mated by the motto we have placed upon on 
banner—" The Union, the Constitution and th 
Laws"— we go into the political contest confi 
dent of the support of a People who cannot 1m 
deaf or blind to the teachings of the last twi 
years. 



ii 



GOV. SEYMOUR'S SPEECH 
At the Convention held at Albany, January 31, 1861 



Hon. Horatio Seymour appeared upon the 
stand, and waa received wi'h loud and long con- 
tinned applause. He said : 

It has been truly said by the President of this 
Convention that we do not meet for partiean 
purposes, although we are ascembled in pursu- 
ance of a call ii&ued by a political org ■xvz anion. 
There was no other mode by wbich we could act | 
as a representative body. The people of the 
State are divided into two great parties, one of 
which gave at the late Presidential contest more 
than three hundred and fifty thousand, and the 
other more than three hundred and ten thou- 
sand votes for their respective candidates. We 
have waited with patient expectation for some 
effort on the part of the responsible majority to 
avert the calamities which overhang our coun- ' 
try. We have hailed with joy every indication ; 
of a desire on their part to meet the duties of j 
their position. We have given a cordivl appro- 1 
val to every patriotic expression coming from 
individuals of that party, whether uttered 
through his journal by the able Republican j 
leadtr of the Stale, by the distinguished Sena 
tor at Washington, or by a patriotic a.nd intelli- 
gent member of our Legislature. The hopes 
excited by those expressions have died away. ! 
Our country is on the verge of ruir, and now, 
ia behalf 01 the great organization we represent 
andof those who, since the late election, have, 
joined our ranks, we meet to confront the dan- , 
gera which menace na. I believe in our resolu- 1 
IulioDS we shall utter the sentiments of a vast 
majority of the people of New York. We * hill > 
rise above political purposes. We shall i< dulge 
in no reproaches — patriotic purposes in the pant 
must be shosvn by pa*rio ic action now. The 
acts of this day will thro* light upon our mo- 1 
tives in what we have done, and will influence 
our conduct ia the future. 

As I have been placed upon the committee j 
which is to frame resolutions for your col side- | 
ation, I wish to state my views of the policy 
which should guide us and the sentiments we 
should put forth to the world. 

Three score and iea 3 earn, the period allotted 
for the life of mart, have rolled away tince 
George Washington was inaugurated first Pres- 
ident, of the United States, in the city of New 
York. We were then among the feeblest people 
of the earth. Tee flag of Great Britain still 
waved over Oswego with insulting defiance of 
Mir national rights, and the trea'y rtccgt iziog 
our i 1 Jopendeuce, The powers of the world re- 
garded us with hdflvrer.ee or treated us with 
con'en, tuoua injustice. So swift has been our 
progress under the influence of our Union, that 
but yesterday we could defy the world in arni j , 
and none .lared to insult our fhg. When our 
Const itn io-.- »a? inaugurated the utmost en- 
thu.-iisco pervaded our hnd. S'ern w 
wko had fought tie battles of the Rev< I 
wept for joy. Gi^d processions of men and wo 
men m irebed - ■• 1 h 'riumpbal pride alor.g the 
street ■• our ii its— holy men of God pray< d is 
ffls Temples that the spirit of fraternal love, 
which ii d shaped the compromises of the Con- 
atitnti'.n, might never fade away, and that sec- 
tional bigo'ry, hate and discord might never 
curse our lard. Amid this wild enthusiasm 
there was no imagination so excited, nor piety 
with faith so stror g that it foresaw the full in- 



fluence of the event then celebrated. Some je 1 
live to see our numbers increased from four to 
thir'y millions, our territories quadrupled and 
extended from the Atlantic to the Pacific, our 
power and progress the wonder of the world. — 
Alas, sir, they also live to see the patriotism and 
fraternal love, which have wrought out thes6 
marvellous reeul s, die our, and the rniguty fab- 
ric of our government about to ci umble and 1*11, 
because the virtues which reared and upheld it 
have departed from our councils. 

What spectacle do we present today? Al- 
ready six States have withdrawn from this Con- 
federacy. Revolution ha3 actually begun. The 
term " secetsion" divests it of none of its ter- 
rors, nor do arguments to prove secession in- 
consistent with our Constitution stay its pro- 
gress or mitigate its evils. All virtue, patriot- 
ism and intelligence seem to have fled from our 
national Capitol ; it has been weJl bkenedio the 
conflagration of an asylum for madmen— some 
look on with idiotic imbecility, some in sullen 
alhaLce, and some scatter the firebrands which 
consume the fabric aoove them, and bring upon 
all a common destruction, Is there one revolt- 
ng aspect in this scene which has not its paral- 
lel at the Capitol of your country V Do you not 
see there the senseless imbecility, the garrulous 
idiocy, the maddened rage displayed with re- 
gard to petty personal passions and party pur- 
poses, while the glory, the honor and the safety 
of the country are all forgotten. Tue same per- 
vading fanaticism has brought evil upon all the 
institutions of our land. Our churches are torn 
asunder and desecrated to partisan purposes, 
The wrongs of our local legislation, the growing 
burdens of debt aLd taxi'.ioD, the gradual de- 
struction of the AfricininthefreeSia es, which 
is marked by each recurring census, are all due 
J to the neglect of our own duies, caustd by the 
; complete absorption of the public mind by a 
j senseless, unreasoning fanaticism. The agita- 
tion of the question of slavery has thus far 
bro oght greater social, moral and legislative 
evils upon the people of the free States than it 
1 has upontheine'.ituioi8of tho«ei-g*inat whom 
, it has been excited. The wisdom of Franklin 
damped upon the first coin issued by our gov- 
ernment, the wise mot. c, '■ rnindyour business !" 
The violation of 'he hem ly proverb which lies 
at the foundation of the doc rices of local rights, 
has, thus far, proved more hurtful to the med- 
dlers in the affairs of o hers than to thote 
against whom tbis p>-3gma'ic action is directed. 
; The particular sutjeot of controvtr.-y aft hi* 
! moment is the territorial ques ion. When our 
j Constitution was formed, our government em- 
braced an area of 820,630 square mihs. Since 
that time it has been expanded b* different ac- 
I quititions to the mat extent of 2,936,166 square 
I miles. This expansion was no-, ooutem In e I 
i be the framers of our Constitution, and Mr. Jei- 
! f-raon declared, at the time of the Louisiana 
purchase, that it ahou'd be mad;- ri^e sutjeot 1 1 
a Constitutional amendment. Tbia wi e sug- 
gestion was unheeded, and we have attempted 
to govern our different acquisitions by princi- 
ples inferred, from a constitution which did r 00 
contemplate such exigencies. It is not surpris- 
ing, therefore, that the opinions of men &md the 
policy of government feave been unsettled and 
coi flicting. 



12 



Thus far, the Nor >.h has had greatly the ad- 
vantage ia the division of thee acquisitions, 
and the political power wh ch emaiii'es froin 
ths creation o'S'a'ee, made i'rom their limits. 
Five free and fire slave States hive been erect- 
ed from territories gained since '.he adop ioi* of 
oir Constitution. The free States have the 
whole of the Prcific coast, and the largest of 
value and extent in the remaining territories, 
lie north of a line which bound-* the region 
where slavery can be employee*, and lie, too, up- 
01 the pathway of European and northern iin- 
migration. Our acquisiiioas since 1773, have 



fare. Let as also see if successf al coercion by 
the Nor th its less revolutionary than successful 
secession oy rhe South. Shall we prevent revo- 
lutiou by being foremost in oversowing the 
prmc ; ples of our govern i.ent, and all that 
makee it valuable to oar people, and distin- 
guishes it among 'he nations of the earth ?— 
Ujjou wheni are we to wage war ? Oar own 
countrymen, whose white population is three- 
fold th*t of the whole country in time of the 
Revolution. Their courage has never been 
questioned in any contest in which we have 
b^en engaged. Tnev battled by our side with 
extended the Southern S aes and Territories to I equal valoi in the Rev /bojionary struggle, in 
882,245 square miles, while the North has ex- i the last warwi'h Great Britain, and in the Mexi- 



panded to 1,204,204 square mile.'. A- 



that the Northwestern territory belonged to Yir 
ginia, and deducting tha" from the area of the 
South, it wiU be found that the South has in- 
creased less than fifty psr cent, atd the North 
nearly 1100 per cent, in extent, since the Revo- 
lution. The South has relinquished to the 
North. 251,671 square miles, constituting the 
present States of Oaio, Indians, Illinois, Michi- 
gan and Wisconsin. The North has never re- 
linquished one foot of the original territory, and 
in the divisions of tha - . which has been acquired, 
it has succeeded in gaining the largest propor- 
tion. 

This controversy does not grow oat of a claim 
by either party that the Constitution shall be 
changed, but with regard to the construction 
that should be given to that instrument. The 
South claim that they have a right to take their 
slaves into ah the territories, by virtue of the 
Constitutional compac', as construed by the 
Supreme Cour-.-, aac? btciu?e slavery originally 
existed in t etn, with tne exception of tkoss 
gained from Mexico. They dmy that slavery 
was abolished when they were added to our 
Uniorj, and they deny the power of Congress to 
legislate against those rights of property which 
were recognized in our whele country at the 
time of the Revolution, and which were upheld 
by the laws of every S a'e, save one, when the 
Constitution was f nrmtd. 

The South does not ask to extend slavery. 
Tney say it exists in the Terri-ories. The Re- 
publicans assert that slavery shah no: be ex 
tended. They contend that it does not exist in 
the Territories, but not content with leaving 
this question to the decision of the appointed 
tribunals, they demand legislation in the form 
of provisos or declarations in the nature of that 
contained iu the ordinance reg*rdu;g the north- 
west, which assume the existence of slavery in 
the disputed regions, ia the absence of posi ive 
prohibi'iotis. They show a distrust m th^ir 



g I cm conn ct. 



iMexi- 
Virginia. cent her sons, under the 



command of Washington, to the relief of be- 
leaguered Boston. Alone, the Sou*h defea'ed 
the last and most desperate effort of British 
power to divide our couitry, at the battle of 
Ne v Orleautt. From the d <-ys of Washington to 
this time, they hiva furnished thfir full pro- 
portion of Boldiers for the field, of sta f esmen 
for the Cabinet, and of wise and patriotic Sena- 
tors for our legislative halls. 

It is only bigotted ignorance that denies the 
equality of their public men to those of the 
North, fo assume that our brethren in fifteen 
S ates lack the capacity to understand, and the 
ability iu protect their own iaterests, is to as- 
sume thit our government is a failure, and 
ought to be overturned. I", is to declare that 
nearly oae-halfof our people are incapable of 
self-government. They htvo avast extent of 
fer lie land, producing not only the cotton, rice 
and sugar cultivated in the TJ tiled States, but 
a grea- abundance of the cereals and of animal 
food. The census of 1850 shows that they pro- 
due i more than one-halt' of the Itidian corn and 
of the five stock raised in the UJ'ed States, 
and this they also manufactured one-six'h of 
tha cotton cloth, one-quarter of the raw and 
one sixth oi the wrought iron nude in our 
country. Ia addi'ion they have a vast abun- 
dance or coal, iron, copper and lead, and every 
element of wealth and strength. They .have 
availed themselves of these advantages to an 
ex eric far a ceding what ia understood by the 
people of the North. 

I beg thofce who have been misled by constant 
and designed mierepret.entation to study the 
statistics of our country, and they will see how 
gr jssly they have been deceived. A war upon 
them would lead to still greater development of 
their industry in cotnpe ition with oar own, as 
the kte war « i h Great Britain maue the United 
States her most formidable competitor in man- 
ufacturing and in the arts. When we compare 



own constitu'ioual constructions and historical ! our 1 ,cal legislation witn theirs, we have rea- 
statemente, by demanding Congressional inter- | son to blu=h. The united deots of the slave 
ffw 11 !? 8 , ^ r e?, tr * iQts > ^d under the cry of States, excepting Virginia and .i-souri, are not 
jno Jixteusion ! they are in fact agitating for ! equal to that of Pennsylvania, and their taxa- 
repeal and restrictions which are of no signifi- tioa le*s than that impos-d unon the ueoule 
TST i * Ty ha * the legal e * i8 '- eilC3 of the S' a'e of New York; and yet thev have an 



which they deny 



extend d and effecive system of internal im- 



Onr fathers disposed of the same cr similar provement, while thsy have avoided the ruin- 
difficulties, by compromises. Adjustments have I °' 2S competition growing out of an undue num- 



been made from time to time in "the progress of 
oar government. The condition ol oar affairs 
forces upon us the alternative of compromise 
or civil war. L<es us coutempU e .he l»t er al- 
ternative. We are advhed by the conservative 
States of Virginia and Kentucky that if torce 
is to be used it must be exerted against tne 
united Smth It would be an act of foil- <;nd 
madnpss, entering upoa th-icoa'e r, to under- 
rate our opponents, aid -bus subject; ourselves 
to the di-grace oi defeat in an iwgi.orxoas war- 



? i ber of railroads, &c. 



Ia what way is this warfare to be coaducied ? 
Nme have b=ea mad enough to propose to 
muste: armies to occupy their territory. Great 
Britain tried that in tne Revolution, wben the 
population hi the South was less than 2 000,- 
000. She a tempted invasion again in the late 
war, wtien their numbers were lesethan 3,500 - 
000- N*y, more, while she armed Iudian sav- 
ages to carry murder aud rapine into the 
homeg of tne North, she attempted to excite a 



13 



servile inxurreciio? in the South, For this we 
cursed her brutal humanity. Her own indig- 
nant statesmen expressed their abhorrerce on 
the floor of Parliament ; aid yet, at this day, 
those who quote British journals tokflaence 
American opinions-, have intimated tha'-, thfre 
might be a gratification of their hate in the 
burring homes of murdered fimilies of their 
own countrymen, cr by cuttixg the embark 
menta of the Mississippi and submerging their 
land. 

But some have suggest' d with complaisant 
air that the South could be easiiy subjugated 
by blockading th sir ports wi:h a ftw ships of 
war. Let these gentlemen study the geogra- 
phy of our c.untry. While the Atlantic coast 
line of the northern States is 851 mite*, that of 
the South, ircluding the Gulf of Mexico, is 
3,076. We have 189 and they ha^e 249 harbors. 
Great Britain, with her immense fleet, attempt- 
ed blockade, and tailed. But, assuming the 
success of this measure, who are to be the suf- 
ferers ? Are we wagirg war upon 'he South or 
upon the North ? Upon the southern planter, 
or upon the northerc merchant, manufacturer 
or mechanic ? This coas'ing trade is the chiof 
supp-.ri: of nor hern commerce— the prze which 
Great Britain struggled so loDg atd so persist- 
ently to gain. Not only do our ships cany tbe 
products of the South, but, at. this tim^, our 
manufacturers annually consume of their cot- 
ton to the amount of more than $40,000,000. 
la the hands of northern carriers and artisans, 
this becomes worth mrre than $150,000,000 
Tee whole price for the cotton crop received 
from all the world, about $200 000,000 each year 
is paid out to the libor ar_d industry of the 
North. We can inflict great miseiy upon the 
South, but could human ingenuity de\ise a war- 
far-3 more destructive to all the interests of tha 
northern States of this Confederacy ? But, soy 
our Republican friend*, these evils may be 
averted by our internal channels. If we *hus 
evade the blockade of the South, to what end 
is all it cost brought on us ? Is it an object to 
disturb the course of trade, in older to ruin 
northern seamen atd merchants and cities ? 

Bu" let us leave these pecuniary considera- 
tions for others more weighty wi^h every pa 
triot. Upon what field shall this content be 
waged ? Upon what spot, shall Ameiican shed 
American blood? Where, on this I road conti- 
nent, shall we find the are: a, where every as- 
sociation and memory of the past ^ ill lo( forbid 
this fratricidal contest ? Or, wheu unnatural 
war shall have brought upon our people its 
ruin, and upon our nation its sbtme, to what 
ground shall we be brought at last ? To that we 
should have accepted a:, the o _set. 

Tee question is simply this :— Shall we have 
compromise after the war, or compromise with- 
out war? Shall we ba aided in this set dement 
by the loss <-f national honor, the destruction 
of individual interest, 'h^ shedding of blood, 
and by carrying misery and mourtiDg into the 
homes of cur people ? "Mr. Prt sideut, t he hoi or 
ot the N rtb, the parties to the con roversy, and 
the obj. ot in dispute, demand a compromise of 
tLis dfik.ulty. I say the honor ot the North 
demands a conciliatory pel cy. When our Con- 
stitution was formed there was but one free 
State. To day there are nite^ee?! free and 
flf een slave States. Then there were but 
two Senators from 'he free Sta es ; dot we 
have a majority of eight in the Jtna'e, and this 
will soon be increased. Then there* were but 
eight representatives from the free States ; 
under 'he census of 1860 we will have the pro- 



portion of 151 men-ib 1 - r« to 55, Then our popn- 
lation was about equally divided between 
the northern aid southern Sta'es (he North 
1,968,455, the South 1,961,372;) todavwe num- 
ber more than 18,000,000, they about 12 000,- 
000 

These results are due not alone to na'ural 
causes, but to the pol cy 'hat favored the com- 
meicial interest and immigration from other 
land*. This policy has ever been upheld loyally 
by *he South, and luVory tells us* by whom it 
was opposed. Would it not be base and cow- 
ardly to withhold at this day those courtesies 
and that consideration which we showed in 
the dajs of their comparative strength ? Did 
not one of eur distinguished Senators then de- 
clare 'hat comity demanded that we should per- 
mit them to travel through our State with their 
slaves, and 'hat, therefore, he was opposed to 
the repeal of the law which allowed them to re- 
main here for a perk d of nine months ; and did 
not his ct.llesgue, then a member of the House 
of Represents ivep, vote against allowing a pe- 
tition for abolition of slavery in the District of 
Columbia to be read or referred ? Were bdls 
designed to embarrass the exercise of the it- 
rights to reclaim fugitives, ihen found upon 
the Sta*u f e !:o< ks of the Ncrth< re Spates ? By 
the increase of our population, under the ad- 
justment of the Constitu ion, the power and 
control of the destinies of our country, are 
placed in the hand of the North. Does not 
every sentiment of patriotism and of honesty 
demand that we shall exercise 'his power in a 
spii it of conciliation and forhearance ? And is 
it not a just cause for alarm to our Southern 
brethren to find men and journals who stood 
by them in the past, now becoming their most 
bitter and unscrupulous as-sailants, when their 
political power is weakened ? 

It grows out of the acquisition of territories 
not contemplated by the Constitution — out of 
an expansion of our territory from 820,680 to 
2,936,166 square miles. In the progress of our 
country this has given rise to corflicting views, 
and our leading statesmen have, at different 
time a , held inconsistent opinions. Mr. Cal- 
hoir, at ore time, decided, while a member of 
the Cabinet, that Congress had the power of 
legislating upon terri orial questions. At a 
later day he took 'he opposite ground. John 
Qutncy Adams, who opposed the admission of 
Missouri as a slave State in 1836, on the occa- 
sion of the admission of Arkansas, used the 
following language : 

<; 1Tr Chaikman— I cannot consis'en'ly wi.h 
my sense of my obligations as a citizen of the 
Uiited States, and bound by oath to support 
their Constitution, 1 cannot object to the ad- 
mission of Arkansas into the Unicn as a 
slave State ; I cannot propose or agree to make 
j it a condition of her odmission th.d a Conten- 
I Hon of her people shall expunge This article from 
\her Constitution She isentiikdto admission 
J as a tlive State, a? Louisiana and Mississippi, 
i and Alabama and Missouri', have been admitted, 
j by virtue of that article in the 'reaty for the ac- 
J quisition of LouioiaLa, which secures to the 
inhabitants of the c;ded territories all the 
right*, privileges and imnuri ks ot the origi- 
nal citizens of the United States, and stipulates 
for their admission co aformably to thatprinci- 
ple, into the Union. Louisiana was purchased 
as a country wherein slavery was the establish- 
ed la v of tte land. As Congress have not pow- 
j er in time of peace to abolish slavery in the ori- 
ginal States of the Union, they are equally des- 
I tkute of the power in those pirts of the terri- 



.14 



t»ry ceded by France to the United States, by 
the name of Louisiana, where slavery existed 
at the acquisition. Slavery is, in this Union, 
the subject of internal legislation in the States, 
and in peace is cognizable by Congress only, as 
it is tacitly tolerated and protected where it ex- 
ietfi by the Constitution of the United States, 
and as it mingles in their intercourse with 
other nations. Arkansas, therefore, comes, and 
has the right to come into the Union with ber 



fo carry out, withou'. regard to his own views, 
If all parties wiJl yield fo the results of the last 
election, and tht President elect will declare 
that he will be governed by the will of the peo- 
ple and not by the will of a party, and tbat he 
will not exert the influence of his place to de- 
feat measures of compromise, peace will be re- 
stored to our land. I hold that those who 
point to the Chicago pla form, and not to the 
Coas'itutioD, as the_ guide of hi* conduct, do 



slaves and her slave laws. It is written in the i him a bate wrong. I know that there are some 
bond, and however I may lament that it ever j that treat him as a man wi'li manacles upon 
was so written, I must faithfully perform its i his haids ; who boast that they hold in the 
obligations." i Chicago platform a chattel mortgage upon his 

The region acquired by the Louisiana pur- 1 coafcience and I his opinion. All honest men 
chase, extending from the Gulf of Mexico to , declare, if he allows the deductions putforih 
the Canadian line, and, on its Northern limit, in the heat °f a political contest, to control his 
reaching from the Mississippi to the Pacific, ! actions against bis own judgment, he will de- 
comprebends most that is valuable and import- ; f ei T e impeachment and degradation from his 
ant of the remaioing territories. Citizens of j b, 8 n office. I repel, for one, the imputations 
the South hold as confidently and sincerely that tnQ8 made against Mr. Lincolo, and the claims 
they are entitled to carry their slaves into this | tnn » impudently put frirth to personal and pe- 
region, as dees the Republican that they hive I culiar lines on his views as most injurious to 
no snch right. We have bad, heretofore, f imi- ! bis hooor and his influence. Before the ekc- 
lar ques'ions of jurisdiction between our own : l* 01 ** ^ was said by his friends he was the man 
and foreign governments.. When Great Britain I h e t fitted to adjust the jarriDg conflicts of the 
seized, in the Northeast, a portion of our coua day. Let him then continue fo bold the nation- 
try, which we held by the sacred title gained by i al and dispassionate position which was then 
the blood and sufferings of the Revolution, eve- 



ry American Relieved it was an urjjust invasion ; 
but we adjusted the difficulty by a new bounda- 
ry. Again, when she made a claim on a part of 
the same Louisiana purchase on the northwest 
caast, wo denied its justice, bu 1 ; yielded up to 
the jurisdiction of the crown 167,365 square 
miles of the most valuable part of t.ue Pacific 
coast-, including ite finest harbors and greatest 
commercial facilities. We gave up an area 
greater than NewEogland, New York, Pennst i 
vaniaand New Jersey combined. Shall we 
to a foreign naMon and to a system of govern 
ment condemned bj our Constitution, wba' w 



claimed for bim. We invoke the Republicans 
not to charge tbat he will be a traitor to his 
country by m»kiDg a partisan creed, and not the 
solemn oath of his office, the guide of his con- 
dues. 

It is also said that the honor arid dignity of 
our government will not permit, measures of 
compromise at this moment. Whea the pre- 
sent, difficul'y was only threatened, we were 
told, in answer to our appeals for an adjustment, 
that thtre was no cause for alarm ; ihat the 
South c iuld LOi be driven oat of theUaion ; the 
time l^d Dot came tor compromises ; now, that 
six S ates have withdrawn, we are told it is too 



will not concede to our own countrymen ? Shall i late, that the digniy of the government will not 
we. for the sake of peaca, subject vast regions 
to pricciple* of government antagonistic to our 
own, and then destro] our Union by refusing a 
compromise which would give to the Sou'h the 
occopation of a less valuable territory in con- 
sideration of their giving up what they believe 
to be thetr cons*i'utional right to occupy the 
whole ? Is there any reaaoa why we should be 
le?e conciliatory now than we Lave been hereto- 
fore, and are there not obvious or.es why we 
should be more so, in view of our reia'ive pow 
<=r? Did the men who now raise the cry of no 
compromise and no concession, hold that lan- 
guage when we had a controversy wi h the 
orown of Great Britain ? 



L"t us look at the objections which are urged 
to this pohcy. It is said this question was de- 
oi<?ed at the late ebction. Questions of consti- 
tutional law are not to be deeded by elections ; 
if they were, our Constitution would be work 
less, and all its guarantees of the rights of 
States and of individuals, of rights of conscience 
M>.d religious libeity, might be annihilated.— 
Neither is it (rue that the late canvass shows 



peru'i ■ it io m»ke concessions. The error con- 
sists in confounding the ac ion of a few states 
wih the position of the whole South. We ad- 
mit that jos cannot offer constituional com- 
promises to the Sfa'es that de dare themselves 
outside of the pile of the Constitution. Bat is 
the attitude of Sou h Carolina to be urged 
against the appeals of patriotic men in Virgi- 
nia? Are we to drive the border States into 
concsrt of action with those w io defy the pow- 
er of your government ? Are we to give an 
impulse to revolution by ird ff-rence to the ap- 
peals of patrio ic men and by insulting threats 
of coercion, and by irri'atiigdisclaj'st.f power? 
Which cause was helped at the Sou'hbythe 
tender of arms by our own State,— that of Union 
or that of Seceseion ? All kuow that the future 
'ate of our country depends upon the action of 
the border S-a^e", and while the beam trembles, 
New York throws its sword into the scale and 
inclines it in favor of revolution. This called 
from the conservative Govercor of Virginia the 
declaration that " Bo'hing tbat baa occurred in 
the progress of this controversy has been worse 



tti*t the popular will is opposed to compromise. | ' ,m * d ar,d l^s excusable. It New York desires 
Mr. Lincoln was made President bv a constitu- f ° preserve the Uuioo, a tender of men and 
tiomal vo'e, and is entitled to our loyal and money, under the promptixgs ot passion, pre- 
cbecrful support, and he shsll have it; but judtce and excitement, will not prcduce the re- 
fills is not the only result ot the la<e contest. 8Uif * 

If two millions of voters declared >hemselves We do sot ask concessions for men in open 

in favor of the principles put forth by h ; s partv, resistance to government, but to tbo e wtno are 

thTee millions declared themselves opposed to struggling for ihe preservation of our Union, 

them ; if the Republicans triumphed in the Stall we have no sympa'by for those upon 

choice of the Executive, we triumphed io gab.- whom the whtlo weigh*, of ihis contest fain* ? 

ing Cougres?, which makes the laws he is bound Cam w« listen, mmumd, to \he entreaties of 



15 



ike Governor of Maryland, of the Senator of 
JEentuchv, or refuse to second the pa*no*ic ef- 
forts of Virginia ? Can we so entirely forged 
the past history of our country, that we caD 
Btatdupon the point of pride against States 
whose citizens battled with our fathers and 
poured out. with them their blood upon the soil 
of our State, amid the Highlands of the Hudson, 
and on the fields of Saratog* ? I ask the old 
men ititbin the sonud ot my voice, to wbat 
quarter did you look for sympathy during the 
last war with Great Britain, when New York 
waB assailed upon the shores of Erie and On- 
tario, and when the disciplined troops, who had 
successfully fought against Nap leon in the 
Peninsula, "invaded ns with co-operating fleets 
by the channel of Lake Chamolain V Was it not 
to the States of the South? Is it well that 
States which then refused to allow their militia 
to pass their own borders to combat a common 
enemy, should be so prompt to tender them now 
to battle against our own "country men ? 

But it is urged, as a further objection, that 
at the instance of the South, we once compro- 
mi ed this territorial question, aid that it has 
been untrue to the adjustment, although it was 
made at, its own request, and against the wishes 
of the North. Tbi* mtstatement has been most 
injurious in its influence upon the public mind 
The Governor of New York, in his late mee 
sage, says, this S'.ate strenuously opposed tfce 
establishment of the compromise line of 1820. 
lathis he is mistaken; it was voted' for by 
every rortbern Senator, and the only rppo^i- 
tion to this line came from the Sou h The 
New York Senators voted against the adniis 
sion of Mi-souri.even afterfhepaesspeoftheact 
establishing the lueai 36 degiees 30 minutes. 
The establi-bment of this line was a northern 
measure — every nonhern man voted for i f — the 
whole opposition to it is coming from the 
South. It is true that after the amend- 
ment "as ergraUed on the bill, many north' 
ern men voted against the act, but thai 
was opposition to the admission of Missouri, 
and not to tbe hue. The South was compelled 
to accede to it to secure the admission of Mis- 
souri ; but it, always fceld it to be an infringe- 
ment upon is rights, Even when this conces- 
sion wa-< made to the N<>nh, the Senators fiom 
this and other northern States, who- e votes en- 
grafted in the bill what is called 'be c mpremise 
line, voted against the act. The Souh did not 
eveB g»iu by this concession the votes of nor'h 
ern Sena'ois, except, two, one from New Hamp 
sbire and one from Rhode Inland. Mr. Lincoln 
admits that ibis opposition to the adoiission of 
Missouri was unjust ifittble, and that he w- s in 
favor of letting new S a<es come into this Con- 
federacy, with or without Slavery, aetbev might 
elect. i n offering to take this Hue, which gives 
to the North the largebt share of tbe most val- 
uable portion of our territories, it feels that it 
is meetiDg us more than half way in its efforts 
for adjustment. 

But, it is said that a compromise of this con- 
troversy will be a eacrifice ot principle to which 
honest men cannot assent, Tbeu the Constitu- 
tion iteelf cannot be supported by honest men, 
for it is based upon and made up of compro- 
mises. It, is not proposed to make a new Con- 
stitution, or to alter the terms of tbe existing 
one, all parties at tbe North and South alike 
ol&im that they only demand their present 
rigHts under that instrument; but owiug to 
causes to which I have referred, an antagonism 
spriiogs up in regard to its construe ion, and 
thij must be settled by force or by odjuatment. 



Let, ca take care that we do not mistake pasekm 
and prejudice and partizau purposes for princi- 
ple. The cry of no compromise is false in mor- 
als, it is treason to the spirit of tbe Constitu- 
tion ; it is infidelity in religion, the cross itself 
is a con promise and is pleaded by many who 
refuse all charity to their fellow citizens. It is 
the vital principle of eocial existence, it unites 
the familv circle ; it sustains the church, and 
upholds nationalities. 

But the Republicans complain that having 
won a victory, we ask them to surrender ite 
fruits. We do not wish thein to give up any po- 
litical advanta ge. We urge measures which are 
demanded by the honor and the safety of our 
Union. Can it be that they are less concerned 
than we are ? Will they admit that they have 
iaterests antagonistic to those of the whole com- 
monwealth ? Are they making sacrifices, when 
they do that which is required by the common 
welfare ? 

The objects of this Convention are, to as- 
sure tbe conservative men of the South that 
they have at least the sympathy of 312,000 elec- 
tors of Ntw York in the contest in which they 
are engaged, and to keep the Border States in 
the Union, and thus ultimately res ore its in- 
tegrity. But we have another purpose. This 
is not the time for the exhibition of par'y spirit. 
We propose to bury party differences ; we seek 
to restore the mora! power of New York, eo that 
it may now, as in times past, be the theatre up- 
on which the cause of our country shall tri- 
umph. To do this we must have unity ot ac- 
tion—all must agree to surmit to some tribu- 
nal. The present difficulties have sprung into 
existence since the last popular elec'ion ; they 
have tak^n this whole community by eurprke, 
and cOLflicting views are held with regard to 
tbe proper line of action. To secure 1 bis union 
of nur, ose, for one, I am in favor of making an 
appeal to tbe Republicans and to the Legisla- 
ture of this State, to submit the proposition of 
Senator Crittenden to tbe vote of the people 
of New York ; if it is approved, then we will ox- 
ers ourselves to secure an adjustment upon 
that basis ; if, upon the other h*ud, it is reject- 
ed, then we shall know that the people of this 
State are oppostd to tbe policy ot compromise 
and coalition. I do not fear the result. But if 
it is, nthappily, true that the libra Republicans 
represent the people of the State, then are the 
days of the Republic numbered. Then the fu- 
ture is dark and uncertain, 

We may have not only one but many Confed- 
eracies. Before we are involved in the evils and 
horrors of domestic war, let those upon whom 
ir, will bring bankruptcy and ruin, and into 
whose homes it m%y carry deeola'ion and death, 
be allowed to speak in favor of tbe policy of 
p< ace. If the Legislature do no% it will be" be- 
cause they dare not let the popular sentiment 
be utteied. If the public voice is beard, all 
will jield to its decisions and we shall be united 
in action. In the downfall of our nation and 
amidst its crumbling run s. we will cling to the 
for'unes of New York. We will stand together 
and so shape the iuture that its glory, and 
greatxeas, and wonderful advantages shah not 
be sarrific«d to rival intt rests. We will loyally 
tollow its flag tbrouph the gloom and perils of 
the future, and in the eaOebt hour there will 
remain a gham of hope, and we can Btill hail 
wi'h i ritle the motto em bh eon ed on its shield, 

EXCBI-8IOB ! 



3 






ANTI-ABOLITION TRACTS. 



For twenty-five or thirty years, the Abolitionists have deluged the country with 
innumerable books, pamphlets, and tracts inculcating their false and pernicious 
doctrines. Little or nothing has ever been done in the same way towards coun- 
teracting their influence. Tlwusands now feel that such publications are indis- 
pensably necessary. In order to supply what it is believed is a wide-felt want, 
the undersigned have determined to issue a series of a Anti- Abolition Tracts" 
embracing a concise discussion of current political issues, in such a cheap and 
popular form, and at such a merely nominal price for large quantities, as ought 
to secure for them a very extensive circulation. Two numbers of these Tracts 
have already been issued. No. 1 gives a critical analysis of the real causes of 
our present deplorable difficulties, and sliows how, and how only, the Union can 
be restored. No. 2 is a brief history of the Results of Emancipation, showing its 
wreb'hed and miserable failure, and that Negro Freedom is simply a tax upon 
While Labor. The facts in relation to the real condition of the Freed Negroes 
in Ifayli, Jamaica, etc., have been carefully suppressed by the Abolition papers, 
but they ought to be laid before the public at once, so that the evils which now 
afflict Mexico, Hayti, and all countries where the Negro-equalizing doctrines 
have been tried, may be averted from our country forever. 



No. l.-ABOLITION AND SECESSION: or Cause and Effect, together with the 
Remedy for our Sectional Troubles. By a Unionist. 

No. 2.— FREE NEGROISM : or Results of Emancipation in the Korth ami 1 1 

India Islands; with Statistics of the Decay of Commerce. Idleness of the Negro, his 
Return to Savagism, and the Effect of Emancipation upon the Farming, JMechanical, 
and Laboring Classes. 

TERMS : 

Single copies $0 10 

Twelve copies 1 00 

One hundred copies 5 00 

All orders under 100, at (he rates named, vnll be sent by mail postpaid. 
All orders for 100 or over will be sent by express, or as ?nay be directed by. 
the party ordering, at his own expense. Very liberal discount made where a . 
thousand copies or over are ordered at one time. Address 

VAN EYMIE, IIORTOxlT & CO., Publisher*. ■ 
No. 162 Nassau St., N. T. 



q.-. V4 3 Y 3 <i 4 



The Publishers earnestly request all in wlwse hands these Tbacts may fall, 
if they think they will do good, to aid in circulating them. We have taken the 
liberty to send specimen copies to many persons, for their perusal, hoping that 
they will assist in this important ivork. We would also esteem it a favor if they 
will have the goodness to state the terms on which they are published, for the 
convenience of others who may feel inclined to order copies for sale or gratuitous 
distribution. 



